American Jewish Civilization Series – serie

This is a biography of Isaac Leeser, a leading Jewish religious figure in the United States from 1829 until his death in 1868. Making use of archival and primary sources, it provides a study of a man who was responsible for constructing the cultural foundation of the American Jewish community.

This critical examination of the life of Mordecai Kaplan is based on Kaplan's unpublished 27-volume diary, thousands of personal letters, sermons, and Scult's own long-term relationship with Kaplan.

Envisioning Israel examines the deeply entwined yet often problematic historical relationship between American Jewry and the Jewish community in Israel and its predecessor, the yishuv, the Jewish settlement in Palestine from the 1880s until 1948.To explore how North American Jews have envisioned Israel from the late 19th century through the present, Allon Gal initiated an international conference and has selected essays from it on the American Jewish community's political, religious, economic, and cultural responses to the formation and needs of modern Israel.Written by leading scholars from various disciplines, the articles in this volume discuss the envisioning of Israel as it has evolved between two mythical parameters: Israel as the successful, stubborn nation that has survived tragedy; and Israel as holding out a unique promise of morality and justice-of being a light unto the nations.

In 1848, news of the California Gold Rush swept the world. The cry was heard by Jews in Europe and the eastern USA, who arrived to found new cultural, social and religious institutions. This study examines the life of California's early Jewish community through letters, diaries and legal documents.

This text provides selections from the diary of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, founder of Reconstructionism in America. It has been edited by Mel Scult, a professor of Judaic studies and history, whose previous work includes ""The American Judaism of Mordecai Kaplan"" and ""Judaism Faces the Twentieth Century: A Biography of Mordecai Kaplan"". The selections contained in this particular volume cover Mordecai Kaplan's writings between the years 1913 and 1934.

Between 1800 and 1880 approximately 6500 Dutch Jews immigrated to the United States to join the hundreds who had come during the colonial era. Although they numbered less than one-tenth of all Dutch immigrants and were a mere fraction of all Jews in America, the Dutch Jews helped build American Jewry and did so with a nationalistic flair. Like the other Dutch immigrant group, the Jews demonstrated the salience of national identity and the strong forces of ethnic, religious, and cultural institutions. They immigrated in family migration chains, brought special job skills and religious traditions, and founded at least three ethnic synagogues led by Dutch rabbis.The Forerunners offers the first detailed history of the immigration of Dutch Jews to the United States and to the whole American diaspora. Robert Swierenga describes the life of Jews in Holland during the Napoleonic era and examines the factors that caused them to emigrate, first to the major eastern seaboard cities of the United States, then to the frontier cities of the Midwest, and finally to San Francisco. He provides a detailed look at life among the Dutch Jews in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New Orleans. This is a significant volume for readers interested in Jewish history, religious history, and comparative studies of religious declension. Immigrant and social historians likewise will be interested in this look at a religious minority group that was forced to change in the American environment.

Going Greek offers an unprecedented look at the relationship between American Jewish students and fraternity life during its heyday in the first half of the twentieth century. More than secret social clubs, fraternities and sororities profoundly shaped the lives of members long after they left college-often dictating choices in marriage as well as business alliances. Widely viewed as a key to success, membership in these self-governing, sectarian organizations was desirable but not easily accessible, especially to non-Protestants and nonwhites. In Going Greek Marianne Sanua examines the founding of Jewish fraternities in light of such topics as antisemitism, the unique challenges faced by Jewish students on campuses across the United States, responses to World War II, and questions pertaining to assimilation and/or identity reinforcement.